Tuesday, December 12, 2017

T-SQL Tuesday #97 - 2018 Learning Goals

This month T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Malathi Mahadevan (blog | twitter) and it is about 2018 learning goals. Given that we are at the end of 2017, this is a timely topic. As data professionals and technology enthusiasts, we are living in an interesting time. There are a lot of opportunities to learn, so much so that we might feel overwhelmed by them. Goals can certainly help to focus our learning efforts.

Learning Goals

In 2018, I am planning to learn more on architect-ing and managing cloud solution. As I gain experience working with databases in the cloud, I feel that it would also be beneficial to learn about the different cloud components/services and how they can complement each other.

Ways to Learn

To help me focus, I am planning to get Amazon AWS and/or Microsoft Azure certification. Normally, Amazon and/or Microsoft have a guideline (or blueprint) that will tell you the things/skills that you need to know to pass the certification exam. That guideline (or blueprint) can serve as an outline of topics that we can use to learn. To learn the different topics I am planning to read published whitepapers, FAQ articles and blogs. Given the evolving nature of cloud technologies, blogs can help to keep us updated with the latest information or features.

I am also planning to learn by taking online courses. I enjoy doing online courses. It allows me to study at my own time and pace. There are some Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure online courses available on Udemy and edx that I am planning to take.

Finally, I am also a believer in learning by doing. When learning new concept/technology, I like to experiments and have hands-on experience. The good thing is that both Amazon and Microsoft offer us opportunities for us to have hands-on experience with most of their cloud offering for free for 12-months. For Amazon, we can sign up for AWS free tier. For Microsoft, we can sign up here.